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Twofold increase in arrivals in Belarus attributed to expansion of visa waiver

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MOSCOW, 10 October (BelTA) – After Belarus introduced the expanded visa waiver for the EU and some other countries, the number of tourists from Europe has doubled, Deputy Sports and Tourism Minister Oleg Andreichik told BelTA at the International Congress of Tour Operators in Minsk.

“After Belarus expanded the visa waiver program on 19 July 2024, export revenues and arrivals increased 2-2.5 times compared to the same period last year,” Oleg Andreichik said.

The deputy minister told BelTA that people from Lithuania, Latvia and Poland are the most active users of the Belarusian visa waiver. “These are our neighbors. And then comes Germany, followed by Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland and Great Britain. The number of arrivals is on the up and up. We want every tourist we can get,” he noted.

Oleg Andreichik also spoke about Belarusian tourists. According to him, the demand for travel is recovering after the COVID pandemic, yet new trends are emerging. Since 2019, the number of outbound tourists has halved, while the number of domestic tourists has doubled. “I think the same trend is observed in the CIS countries, so we need to keep our finger on the pulse,” he added.

The congress brought together more than 100 representatives of the tourism industry from the CIS countries. Addressing the participants of the congress, the deputy minister emphasized that the CIS countries need to synchronize their approaches to tourism, including legislative efforts, as much as possible. Everything should be clear for tourists and tour operators. According to him, “this will lead to the results we all strive for - higher revenues, increased tourist flows, and economic growth”.

“We have enormous potential here. We are actively working to bring into line tourism laws within the Union State, the CIS, with many friendly nations. The proposals voiced today will be definitely taken into consideration,” Oleg Andreichik added.

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